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All went wrong: A380 flight to China becomes 10-hour ordeal

The rare sight of an Emirates Airbus at Hangzhou became chaotic as 373 passengers were left stranded on board amid a logistical nightmare

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Emirates Flight EK302 from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, stranded on the tarmac at Hangzhou airport last week. Photo: mrjjxw.com
Frank Chenin Shanghai

For Chinese airports jostling to open more intercontinental routes, the sight of widebody aircraft operated by global airlines can be a potent status symbol.

But when an Emirates Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger airliner, touched down at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport last week – a novelty for the city’s planespotters, mostly accustomed to seeing smaller narrowbody jets – everything that could go wrong, did.

The plane’s 373 passengers endured what ultimately became a 10-hour ordeal, while the airline had to battle mechanical breakdowns and a logistical nightmare that resulted in huge losses and a reputational hit for the airport.

The drama was triggered by thundery weather at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. Emirates Flight EK302 from Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, had been scheduled to arrive in Shanghai that evening, but at 9pm – after seven hours in the air – the plane had to divert to Hangzhou, when inclement weather made the descent into Pudong too dangerous.

When the passengers and crew were eventually allowed to disembark, they had been on board for 17 hours, with their time stranded on Hangzhou’s tarmac longer than the flight from Dubai itself.

The Emirates crew had originally aimed to wait for Pudong airport’s weather to stabilise before flying there, so they did not ask Hangzhou to start immigration procedures to receive the 373 passengers.

However, the long wait eventually exceeded the permitted flight duty period, according to reports by Shanghai media outlets that cited passenger accounts.

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